Beacon Light Church on Rt. 31 in Vernon will serve as one of the drop-off points for Operation Christmas Child.
Kristin Clark - Rome Observer

Many churches in Oneida County, including one in Vernon, will be serving as collection sites for Operation Christmas Child once again this year. Operation Christmas Child is the largest gift-collecting international organization in the world. The county has participated with the program since 1993.

Operation Christmas Child collects shoe boxes filled with various items for children in third-world and war-torn countries across the globe. Items for the boxes include personal hygiene items, school supplies and simple toys for children ages 2-14. The organization asks that any donated toys are not military-affiliated.

“Many of these children are excited because it’s the first time they’ve received a present,” said publicist KaraLynn Dunn.

Patty Jennings is the coordinator for Oneida, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego counties. She has been working with Operation Christmas Child for about 15 years and traveled to some of these countries to personally be there when children receive the gifts.

“One little boy in Ecuador took each item out one by one and yelled to his whole family about it,” Jennings recalled. “He took his soap out and showed it to his whole family and then took his pencils out and did the same thing. Some families just have one pencil to share, so it means the children can’t go to school. They are just so excited to have a box of their own.”

Jennings said Operation Christmas Child is a great project because it’s so simple and everyone can get involved.

“It’s kids reaching out to other kids and it’s adults reaching out to help out children,” Jennings said. “It’s so simple.”

Operation Christmas Child reaches more than 10 million children in over 100 different countries.

Jennings said a lot of the focus for this year will be on the children in the Philippines whose homes were recently destroyed by a typhoon. The organization already has people volunteering on the ground.

All of the participating churches have set hours for dropping off donations. If someone can’t make those hours, Dunn said someone from the church would be more than willing to accommodate their needs.

For more information, contact Patty Jennings at 315-232-2690 or visit: www.samaritanspurse.org.

About the Author

Kristin Clark is a Copy Editor and Reporter for both the Oneida Dispatch and Rome Observer. She is a graduate of Morrisville State College. She focuses on stories in the Rome area and some sports. Reach the author at kclark@oneidadispatch.com
or follow Kristin on Twitter: @RO_Kristin.